Everything....
by Angel2
Summary: Taiora. Romance with slight angst...you know me, i cant write a straight taiora without a tad bit of angst in it somewhere... ^-^ Please r/r thanks! ^-^


Everything...

By: Angel

Disclaimer: I don't own anything... save the paper I managed to find buried in the confines of the mess known as my book bag... well, half the paper I should say.. the other half was my teacher's. *sigh* I _really _should go buy paper.... 

Oh yeah, I don't own the song "Everything" by Lifehouse... Just thought I should mention that.

Anyway... this is... well something. No I member why I wrote this... Logan, here's your almost-but-not-quite birthday gift... lol you member that? ^-^ Hope so, cuz then this is for nothing. Just kidding of course.... I member all you people that actually read my stuff... Yeah, the whole _five_ of you... lol ^-^ This is for ya too ^-^

Ok, disclaimer--check, mindless ramble--check. Okay, I think I can start the ficcy now... ^-^

Everything...

By: Angel

Sora lay on her bed curled up on her side with a sheet of paper, her history book, and a pencil. She lay there for a moment wondering if she should even bother to open the book. It was at least 10:00 by now...and she wondered if there was even a point to her _trying _to study for tomorrow's quiz. She decided against it, instead putting the piece of paper on top of the book. After a moment of pondering, she took up the pencil and slowly began to write....

_Sora,_ she wrote atop the paper, indicating that it was hers. She thought again for a moment and then suddenly, the thoughts and emotions flowed from her mind to the pencil and she began to fill up the blank paper...

__

Oh what to do....

I sigh heavily.

It appears that I am in love....

In love with whom?

A person you'd think I'd love last...

My best friend...

How it happened, I'm not quite sure

All I know is that I love him

But sadly, he doesn't know at all....

I want to tell him...yet fear restrains me...

Will he laugh and shrug it off?

Or will his eyes light up and shimmer with my own?

I

A sharp knock interrupted her thoughts. She quietly tucked the paper under her pillow and silently flipped the history book open to any page, pretending she was studying.

"Come on in" she called out, her eyes never leaving the book.

"Hi Sora sweetie..." the obvious male voice said, in an attempt to sound like her mother.

"Tai?!" Sora shrieked in horror as she looked up from the history book to the windowsill where Tai crouched. "I didn't even hear the window open! What the hell are you doing here?!"

"Err... Hi to you too...." he said, tossing his backpack to the floor and stepping down into her room.

"Tai if my parents see you, they're going to _kill_ you!"

"Yeah, and if you keep screaming at me, they're going to find out now aren't they?" he said in a strained whisper. 

__

"Sora sweetie? Is everything okay?" her mothers voice called anon.

Tai gave her a look that read 'I told you so!'

"Uh... I'm fine mom!"

"Okay. I'll be back in a bit to tuck you in ok?"

"Okay..."

Tai held a pillow to his face to stifle his laughter.

"What's so funny?" Sora demanded with a scowl on her face.

"I'll be back in a minute to tuck you in..." he mimicked, chuckling through the line.

"Aww shut up!" Sora said, throwing her pillow at him.

"Ooh what's that?" Tai said, looking past her at something.

"What's what?" Sora turned around and followed his gaze.

Sora's face burned with a blush as she realized that the 'that' he spoke of was the poem that she had begun. She had forgotten that she'd stuffed it under her pillow. 

She quickly snatched it up into her hands and began to fold it before Tai's curiosity got the best of him. "It's nothing" she said finally, tucking it into the confines of her junk drawer.

"If its nothing, why are you so worried about hiding it?" Tai smirked.

"B-Because its not mine... and the person who's it is deserves her privacy..."

"Riiight..."

"Its true!" she protested.

"Ok ok, don't get so defensive..." he grinned.

"Aww shut up!" she grinned back. "So, you mind telling me what you're doing here in the middle of the night?"

"I wanted to see you... Am I not allowed to do that?" he said, rummaging through his backpack.

"Oh really...." she said, crossing her arms and smirking at him.

"Yes really." he said, glancing at her then back into the bag.

"No ulterior motive?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow at him.

"You don't believe me, do you?" he said, looking straight in the eye.

"I would believe you... but why the hell are you rummaging through your book bag?"

"I'm looking for something!" he snapped.

"Ok ok...don't get so defensive..." Sora grinned using his line.

He shook his head and chuckled. "Shut up..."

A pillow hit her face. "Ow! You moron!" she said, throwing the pillow back at him.

"Brat!" he said, throwing it back at her.

"Idiot!" she said, tossing it back.

He held the pillow over his head to throw it back. "Err...." he found himself at a loss for words. "Brat!" he said chuckling, throwing it back.

Sora caught it in her hands and laughed. "What? You cant think of anymore?" she said, throwing it back.

"No... well none that I would say to you..." he said, throwing it back.

"Ditto" Sora threw it back.

He tossed it back at her. "Why are we still throwing the pillow?"

"I don't know" she shrugged, throwing it back.

"We're weird..." he chuckled, throwing it back.

"You've just now noticed?" she chuckled, catching it.

"No. I'm just simply stating the facts..." he grinned.

Sora laughed and put the pillow back. She pulled out her chemistry book and stared at her packet. "Err... do you understand this crap?" she said, holding up the packet.

"No... I was hoping you did..." he said, producing a packet of his own.

"I knew it! You liar!" Sora said, chucking the pillow at his face. "You came here for me to do your homework!"

"I don't want you to do it for me!" he protested. "And pipe down.. your mother is still awake..." he whispered.

"Oh yeah I forgot..." she said sweatdropping. 

"Duh Sora... Jeez even _I'm _not that dense..." he joked, throwing the pillow back at her.

"Shut up...baka inu!" she said suddenly, throwing the pillow at his face again. 

He caught it. "Jeez... no need for insults Sora-chan...." he threw the pillow at her face.

"Again with the pillow tossing... We're too weird..." Sora said, sweatdropping and throwing it back at him.

"You started it..."

"Did not!" 

"Did so!"

"Did not!" 

"Did so!"  
"Did not!"

__

"Sora honey? Are you okay?"

Tai and Sora looked at each other and froze. They were scared to death.

"Closet" she mouthed.

He got up and moved toward the crowded closet.

"I'm supposed to fit in here?!" he mouthed and half whispered.

"Get in!" she said accidentally, a bit too loudly.

"What Sora? Okay, I'm going in"

Their eyes widened and Sora shoved Tai and his book bag in the crowded closet, and shut the door as fast as she could. 

The door to her room slowly began to open and she tiptoed to the window to sit in the windowsill.

"Sora? Aren't you going to sleep?"

"Yeah I am"

"Okay. Goodnight sweetie..."

"Goodnight mom"

She closed the door and left. Sora let out a huge breath she didn't even realize she was holding. 

"Sora?" Tai whispered from inside the closet.

"You can come out now"

He stepped out of the closet and collapsed onto the blue bean bag chair in the corner. "That was close... _too_ close..."

"No kidding... Tai I'm dead if my parents find out about this..."

"I know... I'm sorry..."

"Really Tai, why did you come? It wasn't just for homework..."

"I wanted to be with you Sora... Your mom doesn't like me... and your dad is barely here... Makes me wonder if he even knows my name..."

Sora laughed. "Of course he does..."

"Sora I'm serious... I wanted to spend some time with you... You're my best friend for god sake!"

"Y-You do?"

"Of course... I care about you. You may not think so, but I do..."

"Tai..." she breathed.

"Now, on with stochiometry.... How do you do this crap?"

There he went.... Changing subjects like he always does... Changing subjects when he got nervous... Sora just played along like she hadn't noticed.

"Its easy. Where's the chart?"

"Umm....err..."

Sora sweatdropped. "Give me your backpack."

He handed it to her. "Good luck...you truly are brave...going into the toxic waste dump known as the confines of my book bag..."

Sora laughed. "Thanks..."

She rummaged through his things. Papers that were months old were in there. He just watched her do it, watched her search. He saw how her hair fell across her face, the shimmering reddish locks flowing down her shoulders...

He took the opportunity to stop being the best friend and start being a male...

She was beautiful...more beautiful than words can describe... From the radiant reddish hair to her cute tan toes. She was beautiful in every way imaginable... The angel that sat no more than two feet away from him was more than he could take... She was so damn breathtaking... Everything that he saw... she was simply amazing.... An object of all lust to all males he was sure... Why wouldn't they want her? She's a goddess...

And the goddess was his best friend....

...and currently studying him in confusion.

"Tai? You ok?"

__

Better turn on the best friend again... Best friend mode activated. "I'm fine" he chuckled at his thought.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing...don't worry..."

Thankfully, she shrugged it off.

"Um...here...chart...yes..." Sora yawned, stuffing it in Tai's hand. "Its all about the formulas Tai..."

"Yeah...but..."

"Conversions...see? Here. You put this number over one...draw the perpendicular thing... then put the formula... and solve. How hard is that?"

"That's..._it_?"

"Yeah...why?"

He fell over. "My teacher was teaching us some super hard way of doing it!" he groaned.

Sora chuckled. "Poor you..."

He sighed and picked up his pencil and put it behind his ear. "I'll live..."

"I hope so... I'd miss you..."

"Yeah?"

"Mmhm..." she smiled. "You're my best friend... course I'd miss you..."

"Oh..." he said, a little disappointed. "Yeah...ditto." He just stared blankly at the paper before him.

"Tai? You ok?" she said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder.

His eyes looked up to meet hers. "Yeah I'm fine"

She nodded "Okay..." She got up to go over to the bed. 

"Sora?"

She turned around. "Yeah Tai?"

He stared at her, his lips wanting to form the words he had wanted to say forever... But as he gazed upon her, he found himself at a loss for words... Breathtaking she was...and cowardly he was... He could never muster up enough courage to tell her before... and now, at this moment, was no different.... He simply looked back to his paper again.

"Nothing...nevermind..."

"What? Tell me"

"It's nothing...really..." he looked back up at her again. "You should do your chem.... sorry I'm keeping you from it..."

"Its okay Tai... Don't worry... I'll get it done. If not now, before school. What did you want to tell me?"

"You should close the window..." he said. "It might get colder later"

"I sleep with the window open sometimes... Today's no different. Besides, if you need to make a quick getaway... that would be the easiest way to go... I don't think you want to get stuffed in my closet again do you?" she said, dismally, knowing that he changed subjects on her... _again._

He put on an expression of mock-horror. "No...not the closet! Any place but the closet!"

She chuckled. "That's what I thought"

He laughed and began the tedious task of completing his stoichiometry. Sora glanced at him again and then began to work on her own. She was halfway into a problem when she decided to glance at him once more.

This time it was more than a glance... She allowed herself to study him. His mangled brown locks fell around his face as he stared at the stoichiometry problem before him with a puzzled expression. He put the eraser of the pencil to his lips as he studied the question. 

_I wish I was that pencil... that I was that eraser... to feel the touch of his lips against my own... Such a sweet feeling that must be... Our lips locking together... That must feel so good... Indescribable probably.... If only I was worthy enough to smooth his lips with a tender kiss... _

Suddenly, he tensed and his eyes glanced at her. Sora's eyes quickly darted back to the paper that she was supposed to be working on, hoping that he hadn't noticed her staring at him.

_Damn girl...stop drooling over Tai and get your homework done! _

With that, she went back to the stoichiometry. Tai suddenly had the urge to look at her again, to see if she was still staring at him. He had felt her eyes on him...that's why he tensed... He just wondered what in the hell she could see in him... 

He let his eyes drift from the paper and to her. She was furiously scribbling away on the paper. Obviously pissed off about the 35 stoichiometry questions they both had to do that night. Her brow was furrowed in concentration as she studied one problem and the pencil scribbling stopped. She put the pencil to her cheek and began to lightly tap on it. She raised an eyebrow with a look that read 'What the hell are you asking for again?'. He couldn't help but smile. She was so cute when she was concentrating or grring at him.. Hell, she was cute all the time. How she pulled it off was beyond him. He watched as she tucked a piece of the reddish locks behind her ear and gave a small smirk when she had finally figured out the problem. Again the pencil began to scribble down formulas and numbers. And she was simply adorable when she was just sitting there, writing. 

He smiled again and picked up his own pencil, ready to take on the stoichiometry, and began to scribble down formulas and numbers of his own. 

**********

Sora threw down the pencil and yawned. She had _finally_ finished her stupid chemistry homework. She stood up and stretched her cramped arms and legs. She casually glanced over at Tai. He looked like he was sleeping. She smiled at the image before her and began to walk towards him. She knelt down before him and sat on her legs. She stared up at his face through his hair, that had fallen around his face. His eyes were closed. Sora grinned and began to poke his arm. 

"Wakie, wakie..." she said softly. 

He moaned and mumbled something unintelligible. 

"Tai wake up..." she said, continuing to poke him.

He was quick to try to swat her hand away. "Mmhm..."

"Fine.. I'll do this the hard way..." she grinned, getting up. 

Sora walked around him and crouched down behind him. She allowed her arms to snake around his waist as she blushed terribly, yet grinned mischievously at the same time. Suddenly, she began to tickle him like crazy.

Tai's eyes snapped open as he jumped back into her. He began to laugh like crazy and tried to take Sora's arms out from around his waist, but she held on tightly and wouldn't let go. He let his own hands reach back and roam across her stomach sending her in a fit of laughter that knocked them both to the floor. She was dying of laughter, barely able to keep her arms around him, but she refused to let go as she tickled him even more. 

"I'm not going to let go, you do know that right?" Tai said, barely able to control himself from bursting out in laughter.

"And _I _hope that _you _know that I'm not going to let go either..." Sora countered, fighting to "turn off" the tickles. 

"Looks like we're not going anywhere for a while..." he said, sighing.

"You bet we aren't" Sora grinned at him, commencing to tickle him again. 

They rolled around all over her room floor, laughing their asses off like two little kids in kindergarten. Both of them refused to let go. Neither of them showed signs of relenting either. They just kept on tickling each other, with no concern that Sora's parents were in the same apartment... Amazingly, their loud laughter didn't even wake them up; not in the slightest. Lucky for Tai and Sora of course...

"I'll stop if you stop" Tai said, almost ready to give up. 

"Giving up so easily? You're so weak!" Sora smirked.

"Hey! I resent that!" 

And with that, the tickling-fest began once more. 

**********

"One...Two...Three!"

The two broke apart exhausted, their fingers throbbing in pain. They had _finally_ agreed to stop tickling each other. 

"Tai I cant feel my fingers!"

"My side hurts so much from laughing..."

They lay down on their backs on the soft carpeted floor. 

"Its your fault you know...." Tai said, turning his head to look at her.

"Well if you would have woken up, this wouldn't have happened."

Silence.

He looked up at the ceiling. "Well, I'm kinda glad I didn't wake up..." 

She looked over at him. "Oh?"

"Yeah." he said, still staring at the ceiling. "We haven't played like that in a long time... Since we were little kids"

"Yeah..." she said sighing, staring up at the ceiling with him. 

Silence.

With effort, Sora slowly got up to her feet. She walked over to the window and crawled out onto the rooftop, where the cold whipping wind met her thin body. Tai sat up and looked at her standing out on the rooftop. He watched as she hugged herself to keep warm and stared at the city. Her hair and clothes--t-shirt and shorts--were being pulled in the wind. 

She shivered. 

Sora felt warm arms and a blanket wrap around her. She turned her head and from the corner of her eye saw Tai staring out at the city. She turned her head back to the view and blushed terribly. 

"Thanks Tai..." she said quietly.

"For what?"

"For the blanket..." 

"Oh..." he said dismally. "You're welcome."

Silence.

"Its beautiful isn't it?" she began quietly, never taking her eyes off of the creamy-white moon that hung in the dark night sky.

"Yes...you are..." he mumbled, closing his eyes.

"What?" she said, blushing terribly. 

"Err... I said it is... It is beautiful..." Tai said quickly, trying to cover for his slip.

"Oh..." she said, looking to the floor.

"Yeah..."

The two blushed as Tai snaked his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him. She allowed herself to lean back into him. Their eyes fluttered shut as one thought hit their minds.

__

So this is bliss.....

**********

Sora awoke to the screaming and yelling of her parents. She opened her eyes and was blinded by the sunlight. She quickly closed them again and slowly her eyes became accustomed to it. She sat up slowly clutching her head in her hands and looked around her. She was on the rooftop of the apartment building. Startled, she checked to see if Tai was still there. She crawled into her room and looked. He was gone. 

She sighed in relief and rubbed the sleep out of her tired eyes. She glanced at the clock. She was late for school. 

Sora mumbled some colorful words under her breath as she pulled her school uniform out of her closet and pulled it on. She ran her fingers through her hair and ran past her fighting parents and out the door. 

**********

By the time she got there, lunch had already started. She sighed heavily and laid down under a tree in the shade. She let her eyes slip shut, then decided against it, knowing that she would fall asleep. She just laid there, staring at the leaves in the tree sway gently in the breeze. 

"Sora? Is that you?" 

Sora squinted in the sunlight at the person who towered before her. "Tai?"

"Where have you been all morning?" he said, sitting down beside her.

She sat up and leaned against the tree. "Sleeping... You should have woken me up when you left."

"I couldn't... You looked--" he stopped in mid-sentence, realizing what he was going to say. "I thought you could use the sleep. Besides, it was way too early... I had to leave before my parents and little sister woke up and found me not there."

"Oh...right." 

Silence.

"Did lunch just start?"

"Mm...yeah. Bout five minutes ago"

Silence.

"So..."

"So..."

Silence.

"What are you doing after school?" Tai said, in an attempt to start a conversation.

"Tennis... If its not cancelled..._again_." 

Silence.

"Hey Tai...."

"Yeah?"

"This has been bothering me... How'd we end up sleeping on the rooftop of my apartment building?" she asked, looking at him.

"I don't know... I really don't remember..."

"Neither do I. That's why I was asking..."

He shrugged. "No clue."

"Oh. Okay..."

They sat there in silence just staring out over the field. It didnt feel wierd to either of them that they were just sitting there in total silence. 

_A friend is someone to spend time in silence. _

**********

Tai lay on his back on the comfortable sofa with the a/c blasting on high. He just lay there...basking in the breeze from the a/c and listening to the soothing sound of the wind chime blowing outside the sliding glass door. 

_Stupid thing... _He thought. He remembered how much he hated that thing... But now it seemed to calm him down and take his mind off of the stressors of life...

His eyes slowly began to droop shut. His hair wavered in the breeze.... Finally, he would get some sleep....

...Or so he thought.

The phone rang.

Tai muttered some colorful words as he covered his eyes with his hand. He reached for the coffee table and groped for the phone. He put it to his ear.

"Hello?" he mumbled.

__

"Tai? Oh did I wake you up? I'm sorry... I'll call ba--"

Tai sat up quickly. "No no! Its okay!" he said quickly, interrupting her. "How are you?"

__

"Tai... Do you think I could talk to you... At the place?"

"Of course... Whats wrong?"

__

"I'll tell you when we see each other. I'll see you in a bit then"

"Okay.. Bye Sora"

__

"Bye..."

Tai hung up the phone and scrambled off the sofa to find something to wear. 

**********

Silence.

The two teens looked at the slowly setting sun as they sat under the shade of a tree, starting out over the ocean.

"Tai..." Sora began quietly.

"Yeah Sora?"

"My...My parents are getting a divorce..." she said quietly, her eyes never leaving the tranquil ocean waves.

Tai turned his head and looked at her. "They are? God Sora... I'm sorry..."

"Its not your fault..." she said through clenched teeth, forcing the tears back.

He stared at her, her expression twisted in pain. He saw her struggling to fight back the tears and it looked like all she wanted to do was cry...but she wouldn't let herself break down...

"Sora..." he whispered.

He took her in his arms and gently began to rub her back. _How can a person be so strong on the outside, and be so weak on the inside?_ It hurt Tai to see her like this, barely able to hold on...

"I--I cant do it..."

Silence. He held her closer. He knew she was going to break down....

"I wont be strong today..." she whispered. 

She finally let go...and then the flood came. Tears poured out of her eyes as she allowed herself to wrap her arms around him. 

He held her sob-racked frame and just stared at the ocean beside them. He allowed his eyes to slip shut as he felt the burden of her pain deep in his soul... It was true when he said he felt her pain as his own... He literally _felt_ her pain...

And it was killing him inside...

"It'll be okay..." he said kissing her hair. "You'll see..."

She lifted her head from his chest and looked at him. Her eyes, nose, and cheeks were red and puffy. She looked emotion-torn. She stared at him with a helpless expression as she fought back even more tears...

"No its not going to be okay..."

Her eyes wavered and fell. She looked like she was going to break...

"I'm leaving Tai..." she said quietly, not looking at him. "My mom is making me leave with him..."

Tai's heart crushed. Not only was his best friend in so much pain and torment... She was leaving him too?

Silence. The only sound that was heard was Sora's sniffles and the rustling of the breeze through the leaves. 

"Tai..." she whispered, to see if he was okay.

"Y-You're n-not coming back?" he said, looking at her.

Sora slowly lifted her head and stared into his big sad brown eyes. She shook her head sadly. 

He watched as her lip quivered and she closed her eyes, biting down on her bottom lip, the tears slowly rolling down her cheeks. He couldn't help but break down himself... 

She was as good as gone...

Tears rolled down his cheeks as he lifted her chin so he could look at her. Her reddish eyes seemed dimmed in the blazing sunset behind them. She felt terrible...and she knew he felt the same.

"S-Sora..." he choked, the tears rolling down his tan cheeks.

"Shh..." she whispered to him softly, fighting back her own tears.

They leaned their foreheads against each others and let the tears silently roll down their cheeks. They sat like that, in each others arms in silence, just letting the realization sink in...

And god did the realization hurt....

"Run away with me..." Tai whispered, holding her closer.

A weak smile crossed her face. "Tai you know I cant do that..." 

She managed to get out of his arms and stare out at the still setting sun. He did the same, reluctantly. 

"Tai... since this is probably the last time we get to talk to each other, I have something to tell you." she said quietly, looking at him.

"Yeah?" he said looking at her. "Don't say that though. We will talk to each other still, I promise."

She nodded and looked out at the ocean once again. "Well...before I say anything... I know you've probably heard this countless times from countless people...and you've probably brushed it off or just refused to acknowledge it..."

"Yeah...?"

"I just hope you know that what I have to say comes from the bottom of my heart and it means something.... so please don't be so quick to brush it off like you've done before..."

By the second 'yeah' Sora could tell he was getting antsy to find out what she was going to say, so she decided to prolong the agony a little more...for fun. 

She smirked inwardly as she thought of more elaborate words to say what she was going to say. 

"It took me a lot to muster up the courage to say what I'm going to say...seeing as though I've never said it and actually meant it with all my heart...."

"Just say it Sora..." he said with a half-smile.

_Now_ she _knew_ he was way more than a little antsy... So she decided to give him mercy and just say it.

_No sense in prolonging the agony...._ she chuckled. 

She just stared at the orangey sun which was still descending into the ocean. She never took her eyes off of it....

She held her breath. "Tai...I love you...."

Silence. Sora let out a breath and allowed her eyes to slip shut as she covered them with her hand.

_Please don't let that have been a mistake.... _

Tai swallowed and looked at her. "You know all the other girls I just shrugged off?"

She peeked at him through her fingers. "Yeah..."

"Well I did that because I was in love with someone else..."

"O--Oh?"

"That person just told me they loved me Sora..."

Sora froze. She sat there and almost felt her mouth drop. Her hand was shaking over her eyes. She took it off and looked at him.

"I love you too Sora..."

She smiled brightly, despite everything that was going on in her life. She gave him the biggest hug and they both grinned like two maniacs.

"Damn perma-grin..." Sora muttered with a chuckle, hugging him tighter.

"Guess we fall under that category"

"What category?"

"The one of best friends falling in love..."

"Seems so..."

They both smiled, despite the pain. 

"God my hands are shaking!"

He laughed. "I cant even feel mine! I'm just glad we're sitting..."

"Yeah ditto" I laughed.

Silence. They let go of each other but sat together, cuddling.

"Whats today?" Tai asked.

"Um..." Sora said, looking at her watch for the date. "The 16th. Why?"

"May... May 16... I want to keep this day etched in my mind and heart forever...."

He looked at her and smiled. She smiled up at him before cuddling his arm and sighing contently.

"Bliss....." she whispered dreamily.

"Yup...." he breathed along with her.

And the two lovers sat under the big shady tree watching the sun dip below the horizon and listening to the soothing sounds of the tree leaves rustling and the ocean waves crashing against the surf.

**********

Tai lay on his bed ready to fall asleep. Only a matter of moments...

An annoying tapping noise woke him from his light sleep. Groggily he got up and went to the window. He groped for a flashlight in his drawer. He flashed the light at the window and it met with a flash of red.

"Sora?"

He pushed up the window. Sora crawled in, shivering beyond belief.

"Sora? Sora what's wrong?" he whispered.

"My lips...my face...it all hurts..." she moaned loudly.

"Shh... my sister might wake up..."

"I'm sorry..." she whispered. "Where are you?"

She groped for his face. She felt her fingers brush his hair. She ran her fingers down his face. 

"Sora...." he breathed.

"Tai..."

He found her face in the dark and began to touch it, trying to see in the dark... Trying to see what was wrong with her.

"Ow!" she tried to whisper, wincing in pain. 

"Sorry... Lets go to the bathroom"

They stumbled in the dark and found the bathroom. He turned on the light and closed the door. They shielded their eyes from the light.

"God!" Tai yelped when he saw her face.

Her lip was busted and bleeding. One of her cheeks had a purple puffy bruise on it. She looked like she'd been through hell. 

"Sora what happened to you?"

"Dad got mad...found out that I was at the pier with you today... He wasn't mad at the fact that I was with you...just the fact that I wasn't home..."

"You look terrible..."

"Yeah like I didn't notice..."

"Sorry..." he said, sympathetically. "Here, sit on the counter."

She nodded and obeyed. He turned around and rummaged through the linen closet for a towel. 

"It hurts... My whole face hurts like hell..."

"It has reason too. You freaking look like you got hit by a brick!"

"Thanks... Does it really look that bad?"

"Look for yourself" he said, turning back to the faucet and where she was. 

Sora turned a bit and looked in the mirror. Blood covered her mouth and she gently pressed into the bruise. She winced.

"Jeez...it is bad."

"Told you"

Tai turned on the hot water and put the cloth underneath it. He wrung it out and put it to her lips.

"Ow! Damn this thing stings!"

"Sorry..." he said sympathetically, concentrating on her lips and gently dabbing it. 

She closed her eyes and sighed, letting herself relax.

"There..." he said, looking at her all relaxed and in her tank top and soccer shorts.

She slowly allowed her eyes to open. "Thanks" she chuckled. She could have sworn she saw drool dripping out of his mouth....

"Anytime."

She hopped off the counter and made her way to his room. Back to the darkness...

"Tai?" she whispered.

"Tai where are you?"

Silence.

"T--"

"Shh..." he said, turning her around in his arms.

"Should I go?" she whispered.

"I don't want you to..." he whispered back, pulling her closer.

She laughed softly. "I cant even see your face..."

"I'm right here..." he whispered in her ear.

That sent shivers down her body. "I noticed..." She groped for his face. When she found it, she ran her fingers down it.

She suddenly felt him start kissing her shoulders and neck. She gasped quietly and allowed him to make his way up to her face. She shivered beyond belief and suddenly remembered about his sister....

"Tai...T-Tai.." she said, trying to get him to stop. 

"Mm?" he said, continuing to nibble on her neck.

"I should go... I don't want to wake up your sister..." She took his face in her hands.

"No..." Sora couldn't see his face, but she could imagine that he would be pouting. "I don't want you go to..."

"I don't want to go either... I just don't want you to get in trouble..."

"She's not going to wake up... Don't leave me Sora..." 

She raised an eyebrow at what she thought was where his face was. "What do you have in mind? And I'm not trying to be sultry here Tai..."

"I swear I'll behave. Just stay here with me"

From the top bunk, a pair of eyes slowly opened then quickly closed again.

Sora sighed. "Fine. You sure your sister wont wake up?"

"Positive"

"Fine.. If you get in trouble..."

"I wont."

"Okay...."

The pair of eyes slowly opened again. _What the hell is Sora doing here?_

Tai reached for Sora's hands and pulled her towards the window. The moonlight shone through it. Tai sat down in the chair and pulled Sora onto his lap. They huddled together, trying to keep each other warm. Tai reached for his comforter and pulled it over the both of them. Sora leaned her head against Tai's shoulder and allowed her eyes to slowly slip shut. Pretty soon she dozed....

Tai smiled sympathetically down at her. She must have been god-awful tired... He stared down at her and watched her sleep.

She was so breathtakingly beautiful... She looked like an angel... The moonlight shone into the window and splashed across her face. She looked gorgeous, despite the busted lip and the bruise on her cheek. He gently began to stroke her hair as she dozed peacefully in his arms. He watched her chest rise and fall rhythmically as she took in gentle breaths. 

He bent and kissed her bruised cheek before sitting up again and resuming to stroke her hair. He gazed down at her once more as he allowed his own eyes to slip shut, the image of the angel sleeping in his arms in his mind....

**********

Tai shifted in the uncomfortable chair. The morning sun blazed through the open window. He squeezed his eyes shut and groggily held up a hand to block out the sun. 

Slowly he blinked away the sleep. He rubbed his eyes, yawned, and stretched his cramped arms and legs. His eyes slowly opened and were met with angry reddish-brown ones.

"Tai why the hell was Sora over last night? And what the hell was she doing on top of you?!"

"Huh?"

"Don't play stupid with me Tai. I was awake. I saw and heard everything you did and said"

"Kari! Swear you wont tell mom and dad... Please?"

She smirked. "Fine. I wont tell... If you promise not to tell bout the time I snuck out...."

"You snuck out?!?!" Tai flipped.

"Oh mom...." Kari began.

"Ok ok! Deal!" Tai said quickly, extending his hand.

She took it. "So what_ was _Sora doing over here anyway?"

"Her...err... She wasn't feeling too hot. She got hit by a tennis ball..."

"Ow... That sucks. She ok?"

"Yeah I think she is. Hey, where is she anyway?"

"I don't know. She wasn't here when I woke up..."

"Odd. Maybe she faked insomnia at her house and sent me an email"

Tai turned around in the chair and pushed the power button with his toe. 

Kari shrugged. "You would think she'd tell you she was leaving..."

"Well, it wasn't exactly 3 in the afternoon ya know..." Tai said, turning his head to look at her. "Why the hell wont this thing start?!" he said, looking back at the computer. 

Kari reached past him and turned on the monitor. "It was already turned on. Cant you hear the hum of the CPU?"

"Oh... I knew that" Tai said, sweatdropping. 

The monitor turned on and a notepad document was up.

"Hey maybe its from Sora" Kari said. 

"Ya think?" he said, ruffling her hair.

"Hey!" she said in annoyance.

"You think you can bring your favorite brother some breakfast?"

"Tai, you're my only brother..." she sweatdropped.

"Ok fine... please?"

She sighed in annoyance. "Fine...."

"You're the best!" he said with a grin, turning back to the computer.

Sure enough, the note was from Sora. How she managed to turn on the computer and not have the damn printer wake up the whole house was beyond him. 

__

Tai~

Hey sweetie! Whats up? Not much here. Sitting in your lap...watching you sleep adorably... ^-^

Well, if you're reading this, that probably means I'm gone and you're checking to see if I emailed you.

Well truth is, I am gone. Like gone,_ gone...._

I was supposed to leave this morning....

I'll miss you Tai... I really, really will....

I love you Tai... I love you with all my heart. You mean the world to me... You have no idea... My petty words cant even begin to describe how much I care about you....as a friend, and as more than a friend. I just hope you know how much I love you...and how much you mean to me... I may not say it all the time, but I do love you.... It hurts me so much to leave you...you have no idea... If only I'd said it sooner... Maybe...

Oh nevermind... I wont regret... I'm just glad I know that you feel the same way I do.... You don't know how happy I was when I heard you say that you loved me too... I was so scared you'd turn me down flat... and I'd be sobbing like that girl on my soccer team was when you turned her down... I'd be heartbroken Tai... I really would have been... That's why I never said anything... I was sooo scared... So afraid that I'd get rejected too... That's also why I didn't really acknowledge all the hints you dropped like mad... Self-defense mech I guess.... That's why I don't like to assume anything.... Even if it is staring me plain in the face... Just like you were...

I love you with all my heart Tai... Don't let yourself forget it... Don't fall for other girls while I'm gone ok? ^-^

I guess I should give you my address at my new place. I would... If I knew where I was going... My dad kinda just thought that we hit the road and the place we like the best is where we'll stay. I think he was thinking we'd go back to Highton... I don't know yet. Maybe I'll go farther north to the mountains by where our summer camp was... Who knows... I don't know where I'll end up... But it doesn't matter anyway... I'll write you Tai. I promise I will...

Well, I hope that when you read this, I'm still here in Odaiba... getting ready to leave. Come see me Tai... Maybe our lives will cross paths one last time before I go... Destiny is worth a shot... 

Maybe I should have said yes to that offer of yours.... Who knows, maybe we could have found a nice place for ourselves and away from everyone's mess.... It probably would have been nice... But you know I cant do that... No matter how much I'd love to go... 

This is goodbye I guess....

"In life and death, in purgatory or paradise, in heaven or hell... I will be with you..."

Love always,

Sora

Tai stared blankly at the computer screen. She'd poured out her heart to him... And she was leaving.... She was freaking leaving! He hung his head and the tears began to roll down his cheeks....

__

Well I hope that when you read this, I'm still here in Odiaba... getting ready to leave. Come see me Tai... Maybe our lives will cross paths one last time before I go... Destiny is worth a shot...

Tai looked up. Sora's words seemed to stick with him. 

"Sora..." he breathed.

_Destiny is worth a shot...._

**********

Tai ran down the street as fast as his legs could carry him. The same street he used to walk to get to Sora's house. But this time, there was no time to walk....

And with each moment his mind drifted to the possibility that she might be gone, he ran faster. 

__

Please let her still be there..... 

Tai rounded the final corner that would put him on Sora's street. This is when he really started to run. He saw a car pulling out from the apartment garage. 

He didn't even know if that was Sora's car or not. Frankly he didn't care. He was too scared to care. He was too blinded with the fear that she'd be gone forever and he missed the chance to say goodbye... 

He just needed to get there. Fast.

He just ran. 

**********

Sora lay on her bed. She wanted to cry so much, but she wouldn't allow herself to break. She gently pressed into the rapidly disappearing bruise on her cheek. It wasn't a surprise to her that her injuries were disappearing overnight. She'd always had this unusual way of healing faster than normal. Or maybe it was just the way Tai made it better.... 

_Tai....._

She felt her eyes water as she allowed them to slip shut. She let the music emitting from her stereo envelop her mind and swallow her whole. 

__

Find me here...

Speak to me...

I want to feel you...

I need to hear you...

Sora was almost in tears... She couldn't get Tai out of her mind...no matter how hard she tried....

_Tai come back to me...._

You are the light

That's leading me

To the place where

I find peace again....

Tai ran faster. He couldnt live without Sora... It was just to damn hard... Too hard to lose that one person that gave him direction in life...that one person who he found peace with....

__

You are the strength

That keeps me walking

You are the hope

That keeps me trusting

You are the life to my soul

You are my purpose

You're everything...

Sora was the only person who made Tai want to keep on living. Hell, she was the reason he woke up every morning... She kept him hoping that maybe there was something to life after all.... She gave him something to believe in... She made him feel like he was worth something... She brought out the life in him... It was amazing how she always did that... So amazing... incredible even...

No wonder he loved her. She was perfect in everyway... 

She was _the_ perfect girl....

....and she was his.

Simply amazing....

__

You calm the storms 

You give me rest

He kept on running.

__

You hold me in your hands

You wont let me fall

You still my heart

And you take my breath away

Sora just laid on the bed...almost ready to burst out into tears... this song... this song was killing her....

_Tai...where are you? I need you...._

The tears slowly rolled down her cheeks. Her father was on his way over to tell her they were leaving... She could hear the footsteps nearing the door.

_Taichi...._

She sat up slowly and mechanically. She reached for the power button on her stereo, when suddenly she froze. She felt something.....someone....

_Tai...?_

She left the stereo on and ran into her father, who was trying to get her to stop running.

"Whoa whoa... Where are you going?"

"Tai! I have to see Tai!" she said quickly, trying to make her way out of his grip. "I have to see him before we go! Please let go!"

"Sora...relax. Calm down sweetie..."

Sora looked him in the face. His eyes seemed to dim as he let go of her.

"Sora....you're not leaving."

"I--I'm not?"

"Your mom wants you to stay with her..."

"She does?!" she said. "Does that mean I'm not leaving?"

"Yes.. It does..."

"I'll be right back dad.. I promise!" 

Sora ran past him as fast as she could.

"Sora! Sora come back!"

**********

Sora ran through the people in the lobby. She pushed the door open and stepped out, looking left and right down the sidewalk. There she saw Tai running down the sidewalk.

"Tai!" she screamed in delight, as she began running towards him.

They ran towards each other, joy filling their faces.

"Sora!" Tai said breathlessly, taking her into his arms. "I thought I missed you!" He ran his hands down the side of her face and hair. 

"Tai... I was so afraid I wouldn't get one last chance to see you... I love you so much...."

"God...I really do love you Sora... I got up before 12 to say goodbye to you... If that's not a sign that I love you, I don't know what is..." he said with a grin, kissing her forehead and cheeks.

"I'm not leaving Tai..." she said, still gasping for breath.

"Y-You're not?!" he said panting.

Sora shook her head violently and grinned. 

"Serious?! Sora!" he said, breathlessly, picking her up and spinning around.

They both still panted from running. Tai ran his hands down the side of her face and hair again.

"God you're amazing..." he breathed out. "I love you..."

"I love you too..." 

Sora pulled his face towards hers. They kissed softly at first, then with more fire than they could take. Their hearts pounded in their heads as they kissed and held each other tightly in each other's arms. 

__

Would you take me in?  
Would you take me deeper now?  
'Cause you're all I want...  
You're all I need...  
You're everything...  
Everything...  


__


End file.
